Arnona discounts amounted to 26 percent of the total, with 40% of the discounts going to residents of low-socioeconomic-status neighborhoods.
By DAFNA SHEMERUpdated: OCTOBER 29, 2015 17:15Percentage of housing units receiving a discount in municipal tax (Arnona) on the basis of income, by socio-economic status and population group, 2014(photo credit: JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR ISRAEL STUDIES)
Jerusalem’s arnona (municipal property tax) is particularly high, the highest in Israel. In 2014 the total of due arnona in the capital was NIS 1.173 billion for 212,000 housing units.Arnona discounts amounted to 26 percent of the total, with 40% of the discounts going to residents of low-socioeconomic-status neighborhoods (a socioeconomic status of 2 to 5, with 20 being the highest, according to the 2008 census).An examination of Jerusalem’s lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods reveals an interesting picture regarding the exercise of rights on the part of east versus west Jerusalem residents. These neighborhoods are geographically and socially distinguishable as areas populated predominantly by the ultra-Orthodox the in west and Arabs in the east.Most (72%) of the properties in the west that belong to residents of lower socioeconomic standing have a ranking of 4 or 5, whereas in the east only 49% of the properties belong to residents with a similar ranking.Building on the assumption that people with the same socioeconomic status would receive the same discount in arnona, given their income, we examined lower socioeconomic neighborhoods in west and east Jerusalem, noting how many discounts were granted on the basis of income as a proportion of the total number of apartments in the neighborhood.Evidently, the percentage of arnona discounts is higher in the west (39%) than in the east (26%). For the sake of comparison, we note that in neighborhoods of higher socioeconomic standing (15-19), 6% of the apartments receive an income-based discount.Both east and west Jerusalem show a decrease in the percentage of income-based discounts as the socioeconomic ranking of the neighborhood rises. Eastern neighborhoods with a socioeconomic status of 2 received discounts for 27% of the apartments therein, whereas western neighborhoods with the same ranking received discounts for 42% of apartments. Eastern neighborhoods with a socioeconomic status of 5 received discounts for 15% of the apartments therein, while on the western side this figure was 35%.When we examine the total arnona collected in relation to the total due without discount among residents of lower socioeconomic standing, we find that collection rates in east Jerusalem (72%) are lower than in west Jerusalem (85%). Here too, as the socioeconomic status increases from 2 to 5, arnona collection rates increase. For higher socioeconomic rankings (15-19), collection rates are higher as well – at 96%.In closing, one might conclude that residents of west Jerusalem are more effectively exercising their rights vis-à-vis arnona than east Jerusalem residents. And perhaps as a consequence, arnona collection on the city’s western side is more effective and efficient.Translated by Merav Datan.
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